This was in the newsletter of the church in Jersey City that I was going to last year. My Ex and I attended the church of St. Luke in the Fields in the West Village. When I left him, I decided not to go to St. Luke's for a while, as I thought that I'd be running into him there. He hasn't been through the doors since we split. But, in the interim, I started going to Grace Church Van Voorst, here in Jersey City. Great preaching by the interim rector, Janet Craft. Alas, the congregation were a bunch of loopy leftists. They had basically rewritten most of the liturgy. Without irony, we sang Kum-Ba-Ya one Sunday. When a woman (who cleverly roped me into taking over this gay and lesbian support group) described the Book of Common Prayer as being 'boring' and 'dreary' I took it as a sign from God that I was in the wrong church. I stood it for as long as I could, then came back to St. Lukes. But, I still get their newsletter. Anyway, I thought this was cute...

Top Ten Reasons to be an Episcopalian
From the comedian Robin Williams, who is an Episcopalian, on a recent HBO special.

10. No snake handling.
9. You can believe in dinosaurs.
8. Male and female God created them; male and female we ordain them.
7. You don't have to check your brains at the door.
6. Pew aerobics.
5. Church year is color coded.
4. Free wine on Sunday.
3. All of the pageantry — none of the guilt.
2. You don't have to know how to swim to get baptized.
And the number one reason to be an Episcopalian:
1. No matter what you believe, there's bound to be at least one other Episcopalian who agrees with you.

And I'm pretty tickled to learn that Robin Williams is an Episcopalian. An acquaintance of mine who is Jewish once told me how his parents had a sort of ongoing parlor game called, "Who's a Jew?" wherein they would surprise each other with the revelation that some famous person was, in fact, a Jew. 'Lorne Green,' for example, would elicit a 'No! Really?' There really isn't an equivalent among Episcopalians. Although I remeber my father telling me that basically all U.S. Presidents except for Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, John Kennedy, Richard Nixon, and Ronald Reagan were Episcopalians. But celebrities? Huh. I bet that Reese Witherspoon is an Episcopalian. And Cybil Shepherd. Humphrey Bogart probably was. Tom Hanks I could see in the pews. I bet Sherman Helmsley is an Episcopalian. I wonder if there's a website devoted to celebrity Episcopalians? Have to google that.